X Factor 2012: Rylan Clark invited to lunch with Gordon Ramsay on Christmas Day as James Arthur reveals that last Christmas, he’d “given up”

Since he left The X Factor, Essex boy Rylan Clark has been inundated with offers of work, and is of course currently standing in for Richard Arnold on ITV’s Daybreak, where he’s received rave reviews.

He’s also been approached by the makers of TOWIE and Celebrity Big Brother host Brian Dowling has revealed that he’d love to Rylan in the house when the new series begins in January.

And today, it’s been reported that Gordon Ramsay’s keen to have Rylan over for lunch on Christmas Day, and prior to that, to have him as a guest on his cookalong show which airs on Channel 4 on the Christmas morning.

A source close to Gordon told TV Biz, “The production team have been speaking to Rylan and a number of other celebs about appearing live on the show on Christmas Day…

“Rylan is a big fan of Gordon’s and was thrilled at the approach. If he can do it he will.

“Can you imagine Rylan having Christmas lunch with Gordon and his family – it would be an absolute scream.”

Indeed it would, and another X Factor finalist who’s looking forward to an altogether happier and busier Christmas this year – when compared to last year’s – is James Arthur, who’s revealed that during the festive season in 2011, he’d “given up” hope that anyone would ever hear his music.

And James also revealed that last Christmas, he was living in a bedsit while battling depression.

James told The Sun, “Back then I was suffering severe depression. I had just given up on a lot of things, I gave up on myself.

“I didn’t want to leave the house, I couldn’t get out of bed. I always had a lot of faith in myself as a singer-songwriter but not as a person.

“I had nothing in common with the world at all.”

However, he is now of course tipped to win The X Factor, and a trip to his hometown of Saltburn-by-the-Sea has apparently helped him to “step back from The X Factor bubble” and realise how far he’s come since he first auditioned for the show back in the summer.

He said, “It’s surreal. This time last year I was looking out at the sea from the pier and thinking I’d never fulfil my purpose in life…

“Now I’m here with Nicole Scherzinger at my homecoming.”

The boy done good didn’t he?! Are you backing James to win?

Don’t forget to check out our X Factor final spoilers by clicking here, but for now, here’s a reminder of James’ amazing audition…

Lynn is an editor and writer here at Unreality TV and is a trained psychotherapist and the author of two books. She's addicted to soaps, period drama and reality TV shows such as X Factor, Big Brother, BGT and I'm A Celeb.